Completing this swift survey will give you an idea of the quantity of CO2 that your household emits in a year and therefore the number of trees that you need to plant if you want to be carbon neutral and thus avoid contributing to global warming.
This is taken from a leaflet produced by Treesponsibility UK, a co-operative project based in Yorkshire. They work with local organisations and individuals to facilitate tree planting.
(You will need a calculator and the past year's gas and electricity bills.)
Step 1
Units on your gas bill x 0.2 = ..................... Kg CO2
Units on your electricity bill x 0.9 = ..................... Kg CO2
Step 2
Estimate how many Kg of coal and
bottled gas you used last year x 3.0 = ..................... Kg CO2
Step 3
Estimate how many Kg of wood
you burned last year x 1.5 = ..................... Kg CO2
Step 4
Estimate how many litres of petrol
you used last year
(30 miles per gallon = 0.15 litres per mile.
Average yearly mileage is about 12,000)
Each litre of petrol x 2.3 = ..................... Kg CO2
Each litre of diesel x 2.7 = ..................... Kg CO2
Step 5
Estimate how many airmiles
you flew last year x 0.4 = ..................... Kg CO2
Step 6 - Total CO2 emissions
Add all the totals so far
then divide by 1000 = ..................... tonnes CO2
'Three to five trees planted will fix about one tonne of CO2'
Although it is impossible to reach a precise formula, every three to five trees planted will 'fix' about one tonne of CO2 over time.
For more information, contact Ms Penny Eastwood, 10 Broughton Street, Hebden Bridge, HX7 8JY, UK (tel 01422 843222). An annual subscription to the Treesponsibility newsletter costs £3.
